This is a 2012 era fic that I came up with one day. I hope you like it, because I don't really know much about this installment of the franchise.
Panthera hissed, shrinking back into the shadows of the alley, her right shoulder pressing to the hard brick of the building. The smell of that cat man had brought many memories, most being bad, back to her. He was standing in the middle of a fenced off parking lot of an abandoned auto body shop. Even the filth of the garbage bin couldn't mask that mutant tiger's smell. Even in this form, which was more powerful than the human body she could shift into, she knew that his shooting accuracy was not to be messed with.
The thing he was toying with was something like himself, only a reptile. A bipedal turtle with spinning weapons faced off with Tiger Claw, along with humans dressed in black pajamas, along with one girl that seemed to be rather ruthless. But she smelled of, what was it but Panthera was not sure. The turtle himself was terrified. He was in a defensive posture and trying to figure out how to get out of that situation. Panthera knew that she needed to help that creature, the mutant.
Slinking into the shadows, Panthera moved with ease, keeping one eye and her ears on what was going on in that fenced area.
"Where's the rest of your freakish family, Turtle?" Tiger Claw asked.
The orange banded turtle didn't respond, he took a step back, making Tiger Claw step forward. That was a sure sign that the turtle wasn't prepared for the larger mutant tiger. It also meant that Tiger Claw was willing to exterminate the thing.
Panthera knew that she had to help. But how? Hunting Tiger Claw, knowing where he had gone off to was one thing, facing him without neither a plan or any sort of assistance was very doubtful in a win for the jaguar mutant. A distraction would be needed, that much she did know.
Normal jaguars didn't always roar due to being supreme stalkers in nature, and it had become useful for her down in South America. That had been what she called home after those things, those alien brains had taken her. Humans didn't bother her, they knew how dangerous jaguars could be. And in this case the humans and Tiger Claw became distracted. She could see them from her spot next to a garbage bin. Out of sight, in the shadows, just how jaguars lurked.
"What was that?" The human girl asked looking around in the dark.
"I know that sound, a female I once knew back when they turned us."
"They, you mean the Kraang?" the human girl asked, glancing at the tail-less tiger before looking back at the turtle. "Is she on our side?"
"Hardly." Tiger Claw laughed bitterly. "If Panthera wanted to she would have attacked, just to give this freak a chance to live. I knew her too well." His yellow eyes fell on the turtle. "She protects anything that can't protect herself."
And he was right to think that, because in the next second there was a blur just from their line of sight, causing the bad ninjas to turn towards it, Tiger Claw recklessly going after it with his guns. But there was nothing there, only some discarded trash bins. Turning back to their captive, well the orange banded turtle wasn't there. He, in fact, found himself a ride out of there.
"Whoa!" Michelangelo, the mutant turtle yelped, reacting by wrapping his nunchucks around the jaguar's neck to keep himself from falling off it's back.
She didn't care, and as she ran along the sidewalk, dodging in out of traffic with such grace that even ninjas had, no one really saw anything. Just a blur, that's all she was, even with a turtle on her back.
Several blocks away, the jaguar stopped, shifted and lifted her head smelling the air. Tiger Claw's roar resonated all the way down to where they were, causing people to stop and look. If any looked in that alley, they would surely see the jaguar with a largish mutant turtle on it's back.
"I uh, think this is my stop." Mikey said trying to slide off her back, loosing his weapon from around her neck.
Only this time she took off again, making him clutch on to not only his nunchuck handless but to the soft fur of the large cat. If it was in any discomfort then she didn't show it.
"You're Panthera right?" He asked as they turned down another maze of an alley.
She didn't respond. The safe spot would be hard to get to if she stopped to talk to him. Even when he started humming something that sounded like an old west song, maybe even pretending that she was in fact a horse, she didn't care. Her enhance abilities allowed for her to move quickly, like a blur to the humans. She hid well in the shadows, and moving at night was her greatest ability. She didn't have to fear much then, not even those humans that called themselves the Purple Dragons.
They had a warehouse where she found them, counting money and stuff like stolen property. It didn't take much to make them leave, they hadn't come back for the money or the things left there. Not that human property was anything worthy to her. As long as she fed well, had a den to call her home, this was just as good of a spot to nest up until she had to move on.
Even with the turtle still on her back she jumped effortlessly up to the window, both passing through. If Mikey hadn't ducked then he would have hit his head on the window frame.
"Woo! That was one rad ride," yelled the turtle as she landing on the first floor of the warehouse.
A quick scan with her sense she was satisfied that it was the turtle and her only there, Panthera laid down, signaling for the turtle to get off her back.
"So, uh," Mikey said as he watched the spotted cat head off towards some crates. "I should be getting home now."
Her head snapped to look at him so fast that he jerked back slightly. That's when Panthera lifted her head towards the skylight, and he looked too. The brightness in the slight cloud cover started pinking up the once dark sky.
"Ah Shell, it's almost morning isn't it?" He asked her.
A curt nod was his answer as she went back to what she was doing. There was a shuffle type of sound from near the crates that were in the warehouse. Then she came back around a stack of wooden crates with a pizza box in her mouth.
"Oh man, how did you know I like pizza?" He asked taking it from her.
She looked at him, sitting down and just looked him over. From head to toe and back to the top of his head. He didn't seem to mind, or notice since he was digging into the pizza box and eating at the last four remaining slices of cheese pizza. This turtle was unique, even if he did have weapons. Thumping her tail against the ground, Panthera thought about what she was going to with the turtle. Not that he was hers, she was rather fond of his childish behavior.
"So, I guess I'm stuck here until night fall huh?" he looked down at her. "I'm not sure if you understand me but I'm Michelangelo, uh, Mikey for short. So your name is Panthera right?" She nodded. "Can you talk?" No response.
She may have rescued his shell but she didn't know him well enough to take on a conversation with him just yet. Instead she stood up and headed off into the direction of an overhanging walkway. There was a mattress there with some blankets she had scavenged from a used furniture shop garbage nearby. Twisting and laying down, Panthera looked up and over at the turtle, expecting him to do the same. The action from earlier was tiring, for her at least and she hadn't done anything except bring the turtle back to her home base.
"Uh, okay." He said walking up towards the mattress. "I can use some winks, ya know."
He hopped up on the bed and bounced a little before plopping down on his side and looking at her. He did have nice big bright blue eyes for a turtle.
"See you later, Panthera." He yawned before his eyes closed and drifted off to sleep.
Moving so that her head was near his, just to make sure that he was okay she told herself. He smelled like pizza, like a bad case of pizza craft gone wrong. He even smelled like Easter jelly beans. Jelly beans and cheese, that's what he smelled like. Weird but interesting at the same time. Soon, even her amber eyes were closing against her will, or sleep was willing her to let go of the stresses going on around her.
So what do you guys think? I like thoughts and opinions. Just don't flame me, man.